News TV SETS

2015: 78 million 3D televisions worldwide

Autor: Siobhan Hayes
03/01/2010, 19:33 CET

78 million 3D televisions will be supplied by the year 2015, according to a forecast by iSuppli. The average annual growth rate – 4.2 million models in 2010- is expected to increase by 80 percent by then.

Sales profit for three-dimensional models is expected to be 64.3 million Dollars. That is around nine times more than this year (7.4 million Dollars).

"Whilst 3D televisions are all the rage within the consumer electronics industry, there has been a lot of talk and little action on the market ", says Riddhi Patel, Head of Television System Research at iSuppli. "Nonetheless, the announcements in advance of and after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January show that three-dimensional television is becoming a reality. At the CES, top brands like Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung presented their fully equipped 3D TVs for the living room, which are coming soon ", Patel continued.

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Consumer Electronics manufacturers are singing the same tune in that they praised 3D Blu-Ray players and Home Theatre systems at the CES. This is an important support that would contribute towards "3D" changing from a niche market to the mainstream market in the coming years.

The strong involvement of the large brands will lead to intense competition on the 3D market, which would cause prices to drop. The worldwide average price for a 3D device will be just 825 Dollars in 2015 – less than half the average price in 2010 (1768 Dollars).

The iSuppli forecast assumes that the brand manufacturers will supply their first 3D televisions in Quarter One and will continue to deliver in the second half of the year. Many of the new 3D devices which are on the market for the first time and should pique the interest of customers will be 600 to 700 Dollars more expensive than a two-dimensional LED-illuminated flat screen.

According to iSuppli’s predictions, only the target group of Early Adopters will buy a 3D television in 2010 and 2011. From 2012, the new models should be in the focus of a wider customer group. The forecast names falling prices and the existence of more 3D content as reasons for the increase.

In this respect, things are already starting this year, with channels such as ESPN, DirecTV, BskyB and SkyLife providing 3D content. ESPN intends to broadcast 85 games in three dimensions. In addition, in 2010, about 40 to 50 new games titles will appear on the 3D shelf.

One worry for the television industry is the special glasses needed for viewing three-dimensional material. These throw up a number of questions: will they be compatible with visual aids from the same or a different manufacturer? How much will the glasses cost in addition to the price of the 3D television? The price for a pair of special glasses is sometimes estimated as up to 300 Dollars; but this sum is seen as unaffordable for an average family.

One solution to this problem that some OEM manufacturers are offering is to offer two pairs of glasses with every 3D television. These "Bundles" would mean that the additional expense of the glasses would vanish and would enable customers to enjoy 3D entertainment straight after their purchases.